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 What is this? Return to Monkey Island is a point-and-click adventure game and the sixth game in the Monkey Island series. Ron Gilbert has returned to the series after thirty years away to tell a new story in the life of Guybrush Threepwood. I don't want to spoil anything apart from what is already known as the game that was released today (September 19th 2022) on International Talk Like a Pirate Day. The game's story begins right at the end of Monkey Island 2: LeChuck's Revenge, but even though this is the case, the games following Monkey Island 2 still all remain canonical. LP Details This will be a VLP and I will ad lib, for better or worse, commentary as I'm recording. I aim to record at least one video a week. I would like to say that the upload rate will be more but this game was released today and I want to feel my way through it for myself. I'm going to attempt to be thorough while playing through the game but I may miss out on some content along the way. I will do my best to record any content or dialogue missed in the main playthrough. Let's Play: Return To Monkey Island                   Bonus Videos Scrapbook - Part 1 (Memories Of The Past) Scrapbook - Part 2 (Memories Of The Present) Additional Content - Prelude Additional Content - Part I Additional Content - Part IIa Additional Content - Part IIb Additional Content - Part III Additional Content - Part IVa Additional Content - Part IVb Additional Content - Part IVc (A Herman Toothrot Special) Additional Content - Part IVd Additional Content - Part IVe (Chum Special) Additional Content - Part IVf Additional Content - Part V Additional Content - Casual Mode Additional Content - Writer's Cut Cogg Island Dead Dead Dead On The Lam Trivia Cards (Imgur Gallery) Rocket Baby Dolls fucked around with this message at 00:08 on Dec 12, 2022 |
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Sep 19, 2022 22:38
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I will not return to Monkey Island. It's a silly place.
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Sep 19, 2022 23:01
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This'll be interesting since I just started it too, it'll be fun to see stuff I miss and how differently the puzzle solving goes. Heck, it's already come in handy since I'm too selectively blind to see the slug on the outhouse floor, even with highlighting  Ok, I'm not actually that bad normally, but this should be fun regardless.
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Sep 19, 2022 23:42
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achtungnight posted:I will not return to Monkey Island. It's a silly place. Right. Right. Captain Hygiene posted:This'll be interesting since I just started it too, it'll be fun to see stuff I miss and how differently the puzzle solving goes. Heck, it's already come in handy since I'm too selectively blind to see the slug on the outhouse floor, even with highlighting I panicked for a moment thinking that I had missed something. I thought that you were talking about a gastropod.
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Sep 19, 2022 23:46
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I'm thrilled to see this. I thought I'd have to wait awhile for you to take this on. For the record I like the art style.
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Sep 20, 2022 05:14
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Welp, now I'm going to wonder until the end of the game on what the prologue is going to turn out to be. Either a simple bluff where they made you believe you're going to play Guybrush's great escape from the park between 2 and 3 before dropping the bomb that little Guy is his kid, cue actual game framed as Guybrush narrating his adventures; or a double bluff where LeChuck is trying the imprison in the evil theme park plan again and adult Guybrush narrating how we got there is Guybrush fighting back. Still, I had the biggest uncanny valley feeling during the whole prologue there so very well done.
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Sep 20, 2022 06:45
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Nut Bunnies posted:I'm thrilled to see this. I thought I'd have to wait awhile for you to take this on. Isn't the art done by the studio that did Jenny LeClue? And, while I normally follow your LPs, RBD - imma let this simmer while I take a whack at this game. I've heard good things about it and I've never played a Monkey Island game before.
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Sep 20, 2022 07:45
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Nut Bunnies posted:I'm thrilled to see this. I thought I'd have to wait awhile for you to take this on. I wasn't sure how I'd do well with the timing of this as I have two other LP threads on the go and didn't want to stretch myself. I got through Broken Sword 3 in a ridiculously short amount of time due to having some off work and deciding to record a few videos in advance. I was going to wait to LP this after The Space Bar but because of how quickly I finished BS3 I thought that I'd give the series a break for a week or two so people can catch up with it. Omobono posted:Welp, now I'm going to wonder until the end of the game on what the prologue is going to turn out to be. Right now I have no idea of how things will turn out. I'm only going to play as far as planning out each update so I'll only be one step ahead of you all before each update. I have never played Uncanny Valley, it does look quite interesting though. Samovar posted:Isn't the art done by the studio that did Jenny LeClue? HOW DARE YOU!!! I understand completely and I hope that you enjoy playing it when you do! The artist for this game is Rex Crowle, you can see more of his work here: http://rexcrowle.com/. Rex also did art and design for LittleBig Planet 1 & 2, Knights & Bikes and Psychonauts 2. The graphics for RMI may have some influence from Tearaway: Unfolded, another game with which he worked on.
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Sep 20, 2022 11:28
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Rocket Baby Dolls posted:I have never played Uncanny Valley, it does look quite interesting though.  You made me check if there is a videogame called Uncanny Valley  (there is)
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Sep 20, 2022 12:14
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Well, that sure is a spin on Monkey Island 2's ending. e: Had to re-check some Monkey Island 2 footage but the two adults even look like Guybrush's parents. anilEhilated fucked around with this message at 17:55 on Sep 20, 2022 |
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Sep 20, 2022 12:16
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The next update is all planned out and ready to record, something that I'm hoping to do within the next couple of days. I've only played up to the end of the planned update and no more. It's been a lot of fun so far, even if I haven't really accomplished much. It's going to be very dialogue heavy and we will speak to some old friends and attempt to make some new ones.Omobono posted:
I remember seeing it pop up on Steam's recommended settings but I passed on adding it to my wishlist at the time as it's already bloated beyond meaning. anilEhilated posted:Well, that sure is a spin on Monkey Island 2's ending. That's what got me at first. I believed that this was a direct continuation and then they acted strangely towards the kids as they walked off, what really confused me was when Dee give us the objective of finding our real parents. The opening to this game was really well played!
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Sep 20, 2022 23:20
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Welcome to the beginning of the first act! We start off in some very familiar surroundings and we get to speak to some old friends, but not everything is how we left it...
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Sep 22, 2022 00:30
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Glad to find out the trivia cards don't spawn if you don't pick up the trivia book back in the SCUMM bar, which I didn't do, I was starting to get worried I was continuing to miss obvious things. Aside from the book itself, I mean.
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Sep 22, 2022 02:50
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Captain Hygiene posted:Glad to find out the trivia cards don't spawn if you don't pick up the trivia book back in the SCUMM bar, which I didn't do, I was starting to get worried I was continuing to miss obvious things. Aside from the book itself, I mean. That's interesting to know. I'm glad that they've kept the collectable side of things optional but that's not something entirely obvious. The cards have been hidden well enough so far. Another thing that I didn't know going into this was that when you pick up and answer the trivia cards they remain permanently there permanently, even with a new start or reinstall. I made the mistake of collecting them and answering them during my test run and there is no option to reset them. I had to purge the app data folder and restart the game to reset the cards but that meant having to restart the game. Rocket Baby Dolls fucked around with this message at 08:20 on Sep 22, 2022 |
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Sep 22, 2022 08:12
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That was a start. That was a loving strong start. Amongst other things,  at LeChuck preempting Guybrush coming aboard and hijacking his ship and the I haven't really played an adventure game in a long time, is the quest log a standard feature nowadays?
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Sep 22, 2022 11:52
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Omobono posted:Amongst other things, Got to give the man credit for knowing his enemy’s modus operandi, they been going at this for years by this point both in and out of universe.
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Sep 22, 2022 16:57
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I laughed pretty hard when the gawky drawing of Guybrush's face came up.
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Sep 22, 2022 17:03
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Omobono posted:I haven't really played an adventure game in a long time, is the quest log a standard feature nowadays? I haven't played many adventure games that have been released over the last decade but I can't remember a hint system being used in any of them. From what I've read, Ron Gilbert was against the idea of a hint system at first but then realised that if people get stuck on a puzzle they'd just go online and read a walkthrough anyway. So they devised a hint system that works for the game that people could use if they wanted to. Part of their thinking was making RMI more accessible to people new to adventure games or who haven't played one in a while, which was why they added a casual mode to the game as well.
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Sep 22, 2022 17:34
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I've seen quest logs pop up in some newer adventure games, it's very nice when you're constantly working on about three goals at a time. I've seen in-game hint systems too, but more rarely, and this is the most developed one I can think of. I think it's a nice addition too since, yeah, I'm just going to poke around online for walkthroughs occasionally anyway.
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Sep 22, 2022 17:52
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Put in the camp of not being sold on the graphics initially, but I was excited for the game none the less. Seeing it in motion now though? I loving love how it looks. Something about it with the writing and dialog just feels like it fits so well together.
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Sep 22, 2022 19:10
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The joke about Loom was just exquisite.
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Sep 22, 2022 20:35
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This game, oh it has it highs and lows. Still it a journey
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Sep 23, 2022 02:29
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I've completed a test run for the next update which I'll attempt to record at some point over the weekend. I need to decide if I should click on one character twenty-four(?) times in the main playthrough or save it for a side video. I will start recording and compiling some additional footage soon. There are a couple of extra bits that I missed in the prelude as well as the other wishes that we can make in the wishing well. I'll work on Mêlée Island at a later time as I've barely just begun exploring the place. I picked up the trivia cards again while doing the practise run. I know that it's not majorly important but even with a reload of an old save file the cards are already permanent on record so are no longer there. I've had to purge the save folder again and restart a second time. It might help if I backed up the save games as, knowing me, it's liable to happen again. One thing that I have noticed is that the trivia cards are always in specific locations but they're never always in the same place in that location.
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Sep 23, 2022 23:52
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This video continues from where we left off in the last update, with Guybrush heading off to explore Downtown Mêlée. We already know that times have changed since our last visit and there are some surprises in store for us. This whole video is one long nostalgia trip as we speak to a lot of old friends and visit a lot of the old haunts. Even though I did a practise run for this update I noticed even more details during the recording session that I missed the first time around. In fact, during the practice run, I completely missed the forgiveness frog.  This update was screwing with my head with trying to think about the timelines. I spent a long time trying to work things out in my head but had to reason with myself that there's probably going to be a lot of this going on throughout the game and not to worry about it too much. I'm trying to convince myself that it's Guybrush narrating a story from long ago so it's going to be marred with embellishment, nostalgia and an unreliable memory.
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Sep 25, 2022 07:57
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Elaine: "I was hoping you'd turn up in [my story]" d'aww Also
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Sep 25, 2022 08:50
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Omobono posted:Elaine: "I was hoping you'd turn up in [my story]" You can cut down on the mushiness by selecting a couple of different lines but there's no fun in doing so. I like that they are genuinely happy to see each other and that Guybrush becomes visibly sad to see her go.
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Sep 25, 2022 09:13
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Rocket Baby Dolls posted:You can cut down on the mushiness by selecting a couple of different lines but there's no fun in doing so.  Why would anyone want to do that? What kind of psycho would want that? (Guybrush Jr. and other close family members not included in this assessment for obvious reasons)
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Sep 25, 2022 09:42
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Good stuff, one of the reasons I like adventure game LPs is to hear some of the dialogue I never get to on my own. I didn't hang around listening to the lady up in the window, there's a lot of interesting stuff in there that I didn't hear. I'm especially looking forward to the upcoming parts though, once you get deeper into puzzle solving I'll be very curious to see the differences that start coming up between the easy and difficult modes. e: Also, the framing device of Guybrush telling the story to his kid is maybe my favorite thing in the game, it takes the gag from MI2 and actually fleshes it out into something that's both funny and legitimately interesting on a storytelling level.
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Sep 26, 2022 02:04
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I just finished my first of what will become many runs. This game is just so drat charming, and it's going into rotation of my "chicken soup" games to play when I'm feeling down. A welcome back to point and click adventure form with an extremely nice hint system with both the hint book and Tab Highlights to avoid pixel hunting.
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Sep 26, 2022 02:52
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In this video, Guybrush explores the rest of Mêlée Island and discovers even more changes. There is another new shop in town, a new governor in the mansion and a map that only contains memories. Bonus video There is a scrapbook that can be accessed from the main menu. It's only half full at the start of the game and it gives you a recap of the first five games with the help of Guybrush's narration of various objects and photos. The rest of the scrapbook is filled after you complete Return To Monkey Island and will be filled with various objects and photos contained throughout the game, which I will record after the game has been completed. (Scrapbook - Part 1) Memories Of The Past Captain Hygiene posted:Good stuff, one of the reasons I like adventure game LPs is to hear some of the dialogue I never get to on my own. I didn't hang around listening to the lady up in the window, there's a lot of interesting stuff in there that I didn't hear. I'll have to give the easy mode a try after this to see what the differences are for myself, I also want to play the game with the Writer's Cut enabled as well. I did think about enabling the Writer's Cut for the LP but I've heard that it messes with the pacing of the game. I may try to do something with it for bonus material. pointlessone posted:I just finished my first of what will become many runs. This game is just so drat charming, and it's going into rotation of my "chicken soup" games to play when I'm feeling down. A welcome back to point and click adventure form with an extremely nice hint system with both the hint book and Tab Highlights to avoid pixel hunting. I don't know a whole lot about the game but from what I've heard, the game does have an element of replayability.
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Sep 28, 2022 12:02
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And here I thought videos 1 to 3 were already critical hits in the nostalgia. Narrator voice: Lol. Lmao. I particularly liked Guybrush and Carla's new sword technique, Conversation Swordfighting.
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Sep 28, 2022 16:35
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Rocket Baby Dolls posted:
I replay the remasters and Curse every couple years, along with Grim Fandango and Same and Max. It's the gaming equivalent of watching a tv series over and over.
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Sep 28, 2022 17:27
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Omobono posted:And here I thought videos 1 to 3 were already critical hits in the nostalgia. I wasn't expecting the empty places of some of the old haunts, it made me feel a little sad. pointlessone posted:I replay the remasters and Curse every couple years, along with Grim Fandango and Same and Max. It's the gaming equivalent of watching a tv series over and over. Monkey Island has been a series that I've gone back to every few years, Curse is probably my most favourite adventure game of all time. There are a few staples that I've lost count of how many that I've replayed over the years.
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Sep 28, 2022 17:43
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Oh man, did someone say Sam and Max? I am of the opinion that Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse is actually the high water mark in Telltale Games' point-and-click adventure series. Sublime stuff. Skunkape Games has remastered the first two seasons and is working on the third.
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Sep 28, 2022 18:09
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Quackles posted:Oh man, did someone say Sam and Max? I am of the opinion that Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse is actually the high water mark in Telltale Games' point-and-click adventure series. Sublime stuff. The Devil's Warehouse was excellent, the first two series were good but the third really took things to the next level. Hopefully when they've completed the remasters it will spur them on to creating a new game/season entirely. There was a major hint about a new Maniac Mansion so who knows. The rights to some of the original LucasArts adventures are a bit all over the place at the moment. There's only a handful of LucasArts adventures that I haven't LP'd so far. Simon The Sorcerer is set for a revival soon but I'm really not holding out much hope for that one. At the very least I would just like it to be a fitting tribute to the original three.
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Sep 28, 2022 19:41
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Quackles posted:Oh man, did someone say Sam and Max? I am of the opinion that Sam and Max: The Devil's Playhouse is actually the high water mark in Telltale Games' point-and-click adventure series. Sublime stuff. The "Telltale Formula" and rule of three worked so well for the lighter adventure games. Shame they had a trashfire of a management team.
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Sep 28, 2022 22:49
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Rocket Baby Dolls posted:
I think the puzzle with Carla was the first thing that changed between easy & hard modes. Just as an example (I'm not planning to spoil the differences all along) in the easy version, you give her the forgiveness frog and she comments on how generic it is but goes "eh...good enough, though". I wasn't sure if the harder mode was going to add additional puzzles or just layers on top of the same ones, but it sounds like the latter is how it'll go. I probably should've just dived right in to the harder version, but I got cold feet for whatever reason so I'm glad to watch it here. Omobono posted:I particularly liked Guybrush and Carla's new sword technique, Conversation Swordfighting. I'm a little mixed on this, it's a great gag, but it's one that wears down a bit over time. Like, going back over multiple conversations, I'm wishing we could just have a quick chat and not slow down to have the dueling moves between every line.
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Sep 29, 2022 03:00
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I've recorded some extra content from the prelude. One of them involves using an object with the Scurvydog™ Vendor and the others involve the wishes at the well. I'm not going to worry too much about individual throwaway lines. pointlessone posted:The "Telltale Formula" and rule of three worked so well for the lighter adventure games. Shame they had a trashfire of a management team. It's a shame that they abandoned the licenses for the classic adventure franchises as they had potential to take them much further. Tales Of Monkey Island was a commercial success but they decided to abandon the formula after Back To The Future, which was an even bigger success. Captain Hygiene posted:I think the puzzle with Carla was the first thing that changed between easy & hard modes. Just as an example (I'm not planning to spoil the differences all along) in the easy version, you give her the forgiveness frog and she comments on how generic it is but goes "eh...good enough, though". I wasn't sure if the harder mode was going to add additional puzzles or just layers on top of the same ones, but it sounds like the latter is how it'll go. I probably should've just dived right in to the harder version, but I got cold feet for whatever reason so I'm glad to watch it here. If you want to point out any differences along the way I'd be happy to read them.
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Sep 29, 2022 15:53
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I've just found a piece of unique dialogue involving the horse armour! Edit: Now two! I don't know why I'm so excited about this. Rocket Baby Dolls fucked around with this message at 22:55 on Sep 29, 2022 |
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Sep 29, 2022 22:50
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Rocket Baby Dolls posted:I've just found a piece of unique dialogue involving the horse armour! Oh that's funny. I didn't bother preordering because I assumed the whole horse armor thing was a joke purely outside the game.
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Sep 29, 2022 23:34
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